Chris Howard retirement tours is the only one that has a Declartoria Turística license issued by the Costa Rican government’s tourism institute (ICT #DL-231-2004)

Since Costa Rica is a nature lover paradise there are hundreds of tours from which to choose: white water rafting, surfing tours, wedding vacations, canopy tours, bird watching tours and a whole lot more.  Unfortunately, a large number of these nature tours and including retirement tours are not licensed and regulated by the government.

In theory all tour operators in Costa Rica should have what is called a Declaratoria Turística issued by the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism or ICT to ensure the quality and safety of the people who go on their tours.

In order to obtain the approval of said entity of the government, all applicants have to have an unblemished criminal record, the nature of their particular business has to be investigated and studied and the tourism department’s legal team has to approve the company. The whole process can take over a year in order to ensure the applicant and his services are REPUTABLE and to PROTECT the people who take the tours.

Unfortunately, enforcement of this law is lax and many companies do not offer this protection. Several tourists have died on canopy tours and on rafting trips because they signed up for tours offered from less than professional companies. Others have been cheated out of money or offered shoddy services by unregistered companies.

As for retirement tours there are now many including the original tour I founded around 20 years ago. Each company has  an angle and makes a lot lot of claims. I have never taken any of the other tours so I am nobody to evaluate them. The only thing I can state unequivocally is that none of the other retirement tours except for mine (#DL-231-2004) has a Declartoria Turística license issued by the Costa Rican government’s tourism institute (ICT).

1. Pensionado income will be $1,000 per month, increased from the current $600 per month. The $1,000 applies to both a single applicant and to the family unit (applicant plus spouse and/or other dependants under the age of 18). So, the one pension covers both the husband and wife – same as now.

2. Rentista income increased to $2,500 per month and applies to BOTH a single applicant and to a family unit (applicant plus spouse and/or other dependants under the age of 18). So, it does not make any difference if the applicant is single or is married and has a spouse and five kids, the applicant will have to prove exactly the same amount of unearned income: $2,500 per month.

3. No increased income requirement when renewing carnet. The second sentence of Articulo 263 - Transitorio II, which would have applied the new increased income requirements to all non-permanent residents at the time of the next renewal of the residency carnet, was deleted from the final text. So, if your residency was approved based on a pension of $600+, or $1,000 rentista income, you will have no changes in your income requirements when you renew your carnet after the new law goes into effect.

This key change in the text of the law came about as a direct result of our e-mails, which let the Asamblea know someone really cared about this issue.

4. Mandatory membership in CCSS. Residents will have to join “La Caja” and will need to present proof of membership when renewing the carnets. La Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (La Caja) is the National Health Insurance System of Costa Rica. Membership in la Caja is mandatory for all Costa Rican employees, workers, managers, etc., but membership is currently voluntary for foreign residents. Membership fees (health insurance premiums) are very low compared to health insurance rates in the U.S. and other industrialized nations.

5. Law goes into effect six (6) months after the approved law is published in La Gazeta, the official Costa Rican government newspaper. Therefore, any residency applications filed prior to the effective date of the law would be treated as filed under the “old” income requirements of $600 for pensionado and $1,000 for rentista.

6. Many changes address human rights issues. This is not the right forum to address those changes but I want to mention that the new law creates an Immigration Commission and a system to appeal the rulings of Migracion y Extranjeria.

In a couple of previous blogs I wrote about Mexico’s drug war and increasing number of kidnappings and the possible effects on American retirees. Now there is another danger, swine flu.

Apparently Mexico has become the epicenter of this epidemic. The source of the disease was traced to a hog farm in the eastern state of Vera Cruz. At present there are over two thousand people with the disease and almost 200 deaths have been reported. Perhaps the death toll and spread of the disease can be imputed to the the country’s poor sanitary conditions. For example, there is virtually no place in the country you can drink tap water.  This causes many vulnerable tourists to come down with the famous “Montezuma’s Revenge” which is a form of diarrhea. A wife of a friend of mine came down with Shigella which is closely related to Salmonella  while traveling in Mexico. She almost died.

Mexico City is one of the most polluted cities in the world.  Ten thousand (10,000) tons of contaminants fall over the city daily. Tourists have been know to become ill by just breathing the air.

Recommendations to prevent being infected by swine infection by the virus consist of the standard personal precautions against influenza. This includes frequent washing of hands with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand sanitizers, especially after being out in public. People should avoid touching their mouth, nose or eyes with their hands unless they’ve washed their hands. If people do cough, they should either cough into a tissue and throw it in the garbage immediately, cough into their elbow, or, if they cough in their hand, they should wash their hands immediately. Vaccines that are effective against the current strain are being developed. Al of this may be hard because of Mexico’s poor sanitary conditions.

Fortunately, no cases of this disease have been reported in Costa Rica. The country is much cleaner than Mexico and its tap water is not contaminated. Cases of food poisoning and dysentery are very rare among retired people and tourists here. This is one more reason to chose Costa Rica over Mexico for retirement.

Every day I read four or five of Costa Rica’s top Spanish newspapers in order to keep abreast with what is going on here. After all it is my job as an expert on the country to be very well informed. I also imperative for me to be able to answer questions from my clients on my monthly Costa Rica relocation/retirement tours.

In the April 30th edition of Costa Rica’s La Nación newspaper there is a good article about the current state of affairs in Panama. For some time many publications, realtors and expatriates have been hyping Panama as “the” place to retire. Some go so far as to say that it is the world’s best retirement haven. Unfortunately nothing could be farther from the truth.

According to the most recent polls forty-seven percent of all Panamanians view crime as the most pressing problem. The number of homicides has increased the last couple of years: 444 in 2007, 593 in 2008 and at the rate things are going this year the latter number will be topped. Forty-two percent of the murders have to do with drugs and fighting among local gangs.

Poverty is another issue in Panama. The country has one of the worst distributions of wealth in Latin American which helps explain why nearly 30 percent of the population is living in poverty.

Kidnapping has become a popular business in Mexico, not just in the north of the country but especially around Mexico City.

Having lived and studied in Mexico over thirty years ago I developed a real love for the country and thought I would eventually live there. However, I discovered Costa Rica and my plans changed immediately.  It was love at first site. Given what is happening in Mexico at this time I made the correct decision.

The media has been saturated with stories about the drug cartels and  their battle with rival gangs and the Mexican government’s efforts to eradicate this growing menace. In fact, this week President Obama met with Mexico’s president Calderón in an effort to seek a solution to this problem.

Unfortunately, there has been another offshoot of this dangerous situation. Kidnapping has become a popular business in Mexico, not just in the north of the country but especially around Mexico City. Up till now the target has mostly been Mexican citizens but is only a matter of time before American retirees become the victims of this growing trade.

According to a CBS report about 70 people are kidnapped per month and this number is growing. The victims are not just the very rich but anyone with cash is now in danger. There is general climate of fear with is permeating  the society. This burgeoning problem has given birth to several business. Cars are being converted into armored  vehicles at a cost of between $30 to $60,000 dollars. Businessmen feel this is a small price to pay to protect themselves and their families. There are even stores which sell all styles of bullet-proof clothing with some garments costing as much as $5,000. In addition, almost everyone who can afford it has private body guards. In the CBS report the lawyer who was interviewed had four armed guards with their pistols drawn at all times.

Indeed the situation in Mexico has deteriorated to the point that the country is considered to be as dangerous a Pakistan by the U.S. State Department. It surprises me that one international retirement publication continues to hype the country as the best place to live in Latin America. I think the facts speak for themselves.

This one-time retirement haven for people from the U.S., Canada and other countries is just too risky. What a shame!

Fortunately, Costa Rica still awaits those who to retire south of the border. You seldom hear anything bad about Costa Rica in the foreign media. If the country is mentioned it is usually in connection with its natural wonders and destination as a tourism and retirement haven.